Consequences!

It doesn't pay to skip school!  Andrew reported that these two 4th graders were picking up the school yard trash because they skipped school the last two days to play with each other.  Mr. Milimo, the head teacher, is quick to follow-up and keep our kids in school.  Great Lesson.  Bet these guys will think twice about being absent next time!

You might also notice the neat row of rocks next to the wall fence.  That's the border for the gardens for grades 3 and 4 who have already planted this year and are waiting to harvest!

Amazing Elias

There's a new Kafwa in Chipulukusu!  A man has been added to the group and he is just as amazing as the ladies.  Elias is an awesome complement to the program with a different set of skills.  We showed him an example for a new necklace one day and by the next morning he had scrounged materials and was proudly wearing one for us to see.  Now the whole group scans the paths as they walk looking for washers and other tiny parts to use for these necklaces in the future.  Im sure they will be in big demand!  Making great things from recycled discards....

Sent from my android

Casinos to the rescue!

5th graders

Thanks to local Kansas City casinos (plus Andrew's own source) card playing is now the biggest game in town at Chipulukusu.  This is not just a form of entertainment, however, it's a serious part of the curriculum.  Each class has found an appropriate way to teach math lessons using the cards.

The fifth graders play a division game with the cards while the first graders play "Count It" by laying down their card, saying the number correctly, and then counting the same number from the pile of rocks.

First graders 

.

.

Swarm In!

See that glob on the wall?  That's a swarm of bees that decided to set up a honey-making operation in our cook shack.  Unfortunately, it shut down the school lunch program while everyone was trying to keep the children safe while deciding how to get rid of the bees.

Andrew Murphy reported:

The kids had food today!! I was walking to school today all prepared with my long sleeve shirt and gloves ready to start a fire in the cook shack. To my amazement when I got there the bees were gone and the Kafwa were already cooking. They told me that some kids had come and thrown rocks at them to get them out.... Apparently the kids missed their school lunches for two straight days and were hungry!!! So much for not cooking for two days because of the safety of the children :)

If you'd like to follow Andrew on Facebook just search HealthEd Connect.  For Instagram click here https://www.facebook.com/HealthEd-Connect-249266145107543/?ref=bookmarks

The Murphy has landed!

Andrew Murphy arrived in Zambia several days ago and is sending daily updates of his activities at the Chipulukusu school.  Here's one of his posts:

I met with all of the girls in the GAP program this morning. What a fun group! After teaching them a fun interactive game using their hands in an interlocking circle, I read to them a story. "The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can," written by Dr. Tererai Trent, is an autobiography of how Dr. Trent grew up in Zimbabwe (Zambia's neighboring country) with the stereotype of not being able to go to school because she was a girl. Overcoming this by convincing her brother to teach her how to read, she eventually was able to fulfill her dream of getting an education in the United States. The most important part of her dream came true, too; Dr. Trent came back to her community in Zimbabwe and taught young girls and boys. Who knows? One future head teacher of one of our schools could be participating in the GAP program. 

Saying Farewell to Ali

HealthEd Connect joins those around the world who are honoring Muhammad Ali for his passion and commitment to charitable organizations and causes.  Mr. Ali was honorary chair of the World of Children Awards the year Dr. Kirkpatrick was recognized for her work with Community Health Workers.  He will long be remembered for his commitment to elevating the lives of those in need.  He fought the good fight with passion.

Sent from my android

Paper Beads

So many beads!  Necklaces and bracelets and earrings in every color you can imagine.  The women (and a few men) come bearing their creations with pride.  "I made this," say their beaming smiles, as they lay their work in front of us for inspection.  Gifts on the altar.

Much product passes muster. But not all. Some we send back. It needs to be reworked, smoothed out, tightened up — like Cherry said.  Quality over quantity is the lesson our team teaches, but always with the respect that is due.

In a place where need is in fullest supply, commercial lessons are difficult to deliver and to receive.  How do you say to the budding, hungry artisan, "Not quite good enough. Try again."?   You say it carefully and with consideration.

How wonderful if all the world's commerce were conducted so.

                                                                                           Reported by Michael Lewis

Candy pink uniforms

Our bus pulls up to the Zamtan school in the barren Zambian Copper Belt, and the children pour out of the humble building, each student in a candy pink school shirt — the color as rich and bright as the curiosity of the child wearing it.  They want to sing and wave and clap — any commotion they can make to signal their gratitude.

"Hi, how are you?,” they ask us.  A little bit of staccato English filled with a desire to connect. We answer, "I'm fine, how are you?" and are met with giggles and bashful downward glances.  "I'm fine,"  they say.  Back up come the eyes and the smiles and the waves, gesturing "Look at me! Look at me!"

Look at them, indeed. Young, precious children full of nothing but hope and potential and a desire to be whole. How beautiful to be so pure.  How deserving of a world where they can say, "I'm fine" and mean it.


                                                          Reported by Michael Lewis

After Glow

The afterglow from the May 21 HealthEd Connect Lift a LifeGala lingers on.  A huge success!
Vacation homes were bidon, hors d'hoeuvres were enjoyed,
friends and funds were raised,and best of all ---
 more bowls of porridge, tubes of antibiotic
ointment, mattresses for mothers in labor can now be
provided.  Thank you HealthEd Connect Champions for
 supporting the Gala!!!

HealthEd Connect Lift a Life Gala 

Sherri Kirkpatrick welcoming Frank White,
Royals icon and Jackson County Executive

Shopping at the Giving Store

Heather Campbell and Lauren Hall buying
paper-bead jewelry

Jon and Jodi Donald providing the ambiance

Missouri weather at its best!

Hostess Cindy McClain
and grandson

Picturesque setting at Four Gates Farm

Photo Memories

New pictures from Zambia and Nepal are now posted on our website thanks to our resident photographer!  Just go to www.healthedconnect.org and click on Photo Album at the top of the page.

Photographer:  Jac Kirkpatrick loves nothing more than capturing memories and events with his camera.  With more stealth that one would expect from an amateur photographer, Jac captures a scene without disturbing it.  He especially enjoys the evolving capability of digital cameras.  From African children savoring a bowl of porridge made by a HealthEd Connect worker to a majestic lion sunning, to the magic of Kathmandu, his photographs have preserved memories too good to forget!